The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1887-08-18
LIGHTEN The WORK.
Duty That Every Housekeeper Owes d
Herself and Her Family.

StTctt NOW IndH women you pass Win
tired, weary expressions on their faces?
They may be laughing and talking
pleasantly, to all appearance as happy
as any one could wish. but their sweet
est smile can not conceal the weary,
want-of-rest expressions that are
stamped upon their features. These
may. IN some cases. be the effects of i'll
health or too close application to the
demands of society, which quite fire.
quently are the causes of i'll health. but
the majority of them are housekeepers,
working housekeepers, many of them
mothers of large families. To all house.
keepers, but more particularly to the
latter class, does this article refer.
1t is duty you owe to yourself and
family to tighten your homework as
much as possible. SO that your husband
and children may not be called upon to
mourn the loss of wife and mother long
before your natural time. Every year
there are many women die from over
work, and most of them from unEeces-
sary work. To be sure, this is not the
disease set down as the cause of death
on the certificate of the physician;
there was probably pneumonia, typhoid
fever or some other kindred disease,
bat could we get the opinion of the at
tending physicians. have NO doubt
they would say that, were not the con-
situations of many of these women de-
dilitated by overwork. they would have
been living to-day. 1t is. think, adj
mitted by most physicians that, unless,
the constitution is naturally weak, or
weakened by excuses, the above dis
eases seldom prove fatal.
American women are not, as a rule,
of as robust constitutions as those of
other countries. Whether the women
themselves are to blame for this or the
climate of the country Chat, by the
way, is made to mother a good many
ills she had no hand in making), it is
hard to determine, but that the Ameri-
can women are not strong is an estab-
lished fact. You. then. knowing this.
have no right whatever to abuse your
constitution by excessive work where
there is no necessity for it. Don't have
white clothes for the little ones to play
in, but if you do have them, make them
plain. Throw away all tucks and ruff
fies in every day wear for yourself and
children. Don't wear lace or linen col
lars every day. They are not worth
the strength in doing them up, and if
sent to the laundry wear out in such
little while that they do not pay in the
end. Use tourists ruffiing for every
day. 1t can not be washed but it is
very pretty, and when soiled can be
thrown away. and in the end be much
cheaper than collars that are washed
every week. Particularly is this ruff
fling suitable to warm, sultry weather,
as itretains its shape and is much cooler
than linen collars, which are the most
uncomfortable kind of neckwear for
hot weather With the exception of q
few articles, don'tiron but very slightly
the plain clothes. Only the sheets for
the spare bed need be irone1 all over.
The rest need not be pressed only at
top and bottom. The plain I'M
derclothing need get but a slight
ironing, and if the family is large, none
at all Some people prefer to wear
their Undertaking rough dry, claiming
that it is healthier. The neatest and
best housekeeper l ever knew was an
old lady who would never have her
underclothing ironed on this score. She
never used an iron pot or kettle when
she could get tin or some other light
ware to answer the sane purpose. She
claimed that though tin would wear out
quicker than iron, yet in the end it was
cheaper, for it saved both time and
strength. 1t saved time, for when in a
hurry whatever she wished to cook
could be done in one-haf the time than
if iron were used, and it saved strength.
for in lifting from one part of the stove
to another it required very little exer-
ton. Some may claim that the tinware
is not conducive to health, but, how
ever, if the tin is kept clean there is
very little danger to be feared on that
score.
Don't have heavy furniture, more
particularly in your dining-room or
kitchen. Light furniture, both in color
and weight, will save a great deal of
unnecessary work. Dark-colored fur
niture shows every speck of dirt that
settles on it. and though there would
not be enough to harm any body, yet
the least speck is an eyesOre to the
housekeeper, who must keep continu-
ally at work to keep it clean. Light
cOlored furniture does not show dust in
this way, and is much more preferable.
and if of light weight the lifting of it is
a very easy matter. Get all the labor
saving articles you can possibly afford.
You will. very likely, find some that are
of little account, but there are some
that are excellent, and it will be worth
your experiment with The others to find
the articles you want. Above all things,
don't cling to certain way of doing
things because your grandmother did il
that way, when you can find an easier
way of doing it. Do you suppose your
respected ancestress would have done
it the way she did if she could have
known an easier one? Certainly not
Remember the world moves, and you
are expected to move with it.-Boston
Budget.
A Pet Dogs Obedience.
A gentleman residing at the West